


Avatar Aramente

by Pixilatedcorgi



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Characters and relationships to be added, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2018-10-20 04:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10655073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixilatedcorgi/pseuds/Pixilatedcorgi
Summary: The Fire Nation has attacked, the Northern Air Temple has fallen, war has begun. More than that, the Avatar himself has dissapeared. But the spirit of the Avatar is stronger than that, and his powers have moved into an awkward airbender from the Eastern Temple, a redhead named Keyleth. She must cope with and conquer her newfound powers and gain allies in order to stand a chance against Fire Lord Sozin.





	1. Start of War

Atop a clouded mountain lives a thriving city. Little boys in orange and yellow robes run about, blowing puffs of wind into clouds and chasing flying creatures. Adult and elderly men in similar garb watch them with smiles. The men are all completely bald, and many have foreheads adorned with blue arrows. Flying lemurs leap around, soaring on wind currents and trying to steal baked goods from giggling children. Floating with the clouds are several flying bisons, children dashing about playing with each other while monks amble after them to watch their young. Some humans fly with the animals, holding red gliders to their back to get from place to place. The mountain itself is dotted with beautiful trees and old buildings with white walls and green roofs. Despite the entirely male populous of the mountain temple, one adult woman walks the mountain paths. A tattoo of a blue arrow decorate her forehead and snakes down her limbs to stop at her hands and feet. Her robes consist of a long red skirt that glides on the floor and an orange shawl that connects at her collarbone and floats around her elbows. Unlike the rest of the dark haired people in the temples her hair is a bright orange. On her head rests a crown of sticks, flowers, and leaves. Her freckles and amber eyes complete her appearance as an embodiment of autumn, or a beautiful phoenix woman. While she certainly doesn't look like the average airbender her bubbly and easy-going nature is very fitting for her homeland. The woman sits on a stone bench in a tree filled courtyard, watching children play with flying lemurs. At one point a young boy comes up to her and marvels at her unusual hair. She smiles and leans forward so that he can inspect it. He grabs a lock of her hair, not knowing his strength, but she does her best not to show her discomfort.

A breeze comes through the courtyard, rustling the trees and blowing through her hair. the smell of smoke and ash catches her nose and fills her with worry. Turning in the direction of the breeze she sees thick columns of smoke rising above the treeline. The child whimpers at noticing her fear and she grabs him by the shoulders and quickly walks away from the trees just as a jet of fire breeches the courtyard. Out of the burning gaps between the trees crawls dozens of men in black and red armor wielding swords and pikes and shooting fire from their palms. Screams of men and children ring out around her. She scoops the now crying boy into her arms and begins to run away from the soldiers. As she turns the corner she runs directly into a towering man wearing red. Her heart all but stops and she shrieks loudly before the man puts his arms out in a friendly gesture. The red he wears are robes instead of armor and has blue arrows in his skin, identifying him as a monk.

“Sister Keyleth, Father Korren has called for you. You must come quickly.” He pleads, already running back from the direction he came. She doesn't allow herself to think and runs after him. Screams surround them wherever they go and flames seem to lick at their feet no matter how fast they run. He dashes through the streets of the temple city leading her straight to the central tower. He throws the massive wooden doors open and runs inside, making sure she follows before slamming the doors back shut. He grabs her arm and pulls her up a long winding staircase to the very top chambers. When they reach the top they are both very much out of breath but take no time to catch it. The monk dashes to a small wooden door and holds it open, staring at Keyleth and ushering her inside. The room has a large desk and a balcony, and the floors and walls are draped in yellow cloth. Keyleth runs in and sees Korren, an old bald man with a long gray moustache and wearing red and yellow robes, hastily folding a blanket into a small woven bag. He looks up from his work to see Keyleth and sighs in relief. He grabs a waterskin and puts in in the bag as well, then runs to her.

“Father Korren, what's going on? What's happening?” She panics. He puts a hand on her shoulder to try to calm her, but takes no time to comfort her further.

“Keyleth, we have hosted you at the Northern Air Temple for some weeks now, and you should know why. There are those who predicted that the Air Temples would be attacked by the Fire Nation because we are next in line to host the Avatar. We know that he was born in the Southern Temple, but has disappeared. Certain elders have noticed a shift in the Avatar Cycle that has never been seen before, and they have foreseen that the powers of the Avatar have somehow passed onto you.” He explains quickly. Keyleth’s mouth hangs in shock.

“W-what? That's not possible! Avatars are born, not made! I've never controlled anything other than air! Ever!” She stutters.

“I know this sounds mad. But if this is true then you have the greatest chance at protecting the people of the world from the Fire Nation's assaults.”

“But I can't! I'm not strong enough!”

“You aren't now. But you need to become someone that is strong enough. You need to live to become that person.” He insists. He holds the bag out to her, but realises that she is still holding the young boy in her arms. The child is no longer crying, but fear is plain on his tearstained face. He takes the child from her and pushes the bag to her for her to take. Keyleth grabs it in confusion but makes no move to fasten it to herself. Korren takes her arm and walks to the balcony, picking up a glider on the way and forcing that on her as well. He turns her to face him and holds her shoulders.

“Go, please. Fly in the clouds where they can’t see you. Someone needs to survive this and it needs to be you. Go to Ba Sing Se, it’s walls will protect you from the Fire Nation. Ask them for aid, beg them if you must. Do whatever it takes. I know you have it within you.” He begs. Keyleth swallows her tears and nods. He lets her go and runs back to the door. He throws it open and billows of smoke and ash are let in. Korren looks back at her and says,

“Go, now!” He then summons a gust of air to clear the stairs of the smoke then runs down. Keyleth turns back to the balcony and looks out at the burning temple city. Copper hair falls into her face due to her shaking and she brushes it back, finding tears on her cheeks. Shaking her head to clear herself of emotions, she forces herself to focus. She straps the pack to her chest and flips open her glider. Keyleth swings it around her to rest against her back and puts her arms up to grab the two handles. Her legs instinctively take a few steps back before running at the open balcony, launching herself in the air at the last moment. Air swirls under Keyleth on her command and she uses it to keep herself in flight. As she glides several Fire Nation soldiers shoot jets of flame up at her, which she just barely dodges and twists around. The mountain temples disappear beneath her as she soars, or the remnants of them, and are replaced with clouds. She flies low and surrounds herself with the clouds, obscuring her view but also hiding herself from and soldiers that may be in the area still.

She flies for hours before she builds the courage to exit the cloud layer. A rocky mountain range fades into vision beneath her, little to no green on it's surface. The mountains were no where near as tall or steep as the ones that hold the Northern Air Temple, but mountainous nonetheless. After flying through clouds for so long Keyleth has no idea of how far she has traveled or how much distance still remains between her and Ba Sing Se. Time is lost to her since entering the clouds but she can tell it has been hours judging by the lack of energy in her body. The exertion she has put upon her body and her bending is painfully clear now. Still, she forces herself to keep flying, to keep following the air currents. She can't be sure if the area is safe from the Fire Nation soldiers so she flies half in the clouds, hoping to be mistaken for a bird. As she flies for as long as she can the mountains below her fade into rolling hills and day fades into night.

Only once the sun’s light has completely disappeared does she allow herself to land. Below her she sees a taller hill with an outcropping of rock that she sits under, just enough to shelter her. Once her feet touch the ground she sits down and starts to look through the bag that Korren had given her. Inside the pack there is a few folded parchments with maps of the different nations on them, some koala sheep wool blankets, a loaf of bread, a pouch of nuts and dried fruits and vegetables, and a waterskin and a compass both of Earth Kingdom origin. She holds the compass in both hands and swivels around to see what direction she had been going. With her compass, her maps, and her memory she determines that she had been flying south, meaning that she had been going almost the right direction despite her panic. A sigh escapes her and she feels herself physically relaxing for the first time in hours. Reaching behind her she takes the glider and balances it on her lap, taking a good look at it. It is made of a rich brown wood with dark swirls and spirals decorating it's staff.

The wings of the glider are made of orange and yellow paper, patterned in a way depicting the setting sun. With such a beautiful symbol of her people in her hands she thinks of the children at the Northern Air Temple, and how many of them escaped. Is the Fire Nation attack on the temple still going on, or have they already burned it down? What state are the other temples in? What of her home, the Eastern Temple, do her sisters still live? Her memories of time spent with the nuns mingle with her fear and she can't help but cry. Almost sympathetically the clouds above her open up and begin to rain, but she feels as if the world is mocking her for her emotional nature. As much as she tries she cannot stop the tears from falling so she chooses to pretend that they aren't. Snapping the glider closed and tucking it against the wall behind her, she turns back to her bag. She fills her bag with all but her blanket, and uses the two to make an excuse for a bed. It takes hours for her to force herself to sleep, and when she does her dreams are filled with smoke.


	2. Ba Sing Se

After three days filled with flying, resting, and intense loneliness, Keyleth finally sees the city of Ba Sing Se expand beneath her. The thick stone walls provide a tangible barrier separating the harsh rock from the plentiful farms. The farms lie in rows that reach farther than she can see even from her place in the sky. Her heart lifts to meet her body at the thought of getting help, possibly saving her people. A second stone barrier, the inner wall, marks the end of the farmlands and the beginning of the vast inner city. Narrow streets wind and twist between dense rows of green roofed buildings. People in green robes bustle about the streets among wooden carriages. Above the houses are raised track or roads that support the monorail cars that zip about the city, powered by earthbenders. As she flies over Ba Sing Se the houses get bigger and bigger and the streets get wider and wider until she reaches the palace in the center.

The courtyard and the palace grounds are surrounded by its own walls, separating it from the rest of the city. The symbol of the Earth Kingdom, a green circle with a gold square in the center, is displayed on its high brown walls. The golden roofs shine in the light of the afternoon sun. The building itself if in a squared horseshoe shape with tall golden pagodas on either side and a lush garden courtyard in its center, complete with an artificial river. She dives down and flips her glider closed before she even reaches the ground, landing with ease. She sprints through the thick grass towards the palace doors but barely makes three steps before she is ambushed.

Black cloaked men leap from the high walls and rise from the earth with a speed and intent she has never seen. They all have long sleeves with light green hems and gold collars, and have the Earth Kingdom’s symbol decorating their chest. Their faces are obscured by black conical hats that have gold points on the top and green tassels hanging behind them. Most of the men have long black hair braided behind them but some have short or seemingly no hair. As they land they quickly tuck their hands into their sleeves but Keyleth catches a glimpse of stone gloves. She recognises their uniforms from stories about the Earth Kingdom and Avatar Kyoshi. These are the Dai Li, the military police of the King.

“Why are you here, airbender?” One demands.

“This is the palace of the Earth King. You are trespassing and presenting a danger.”

“Please, I need to talk to the Earth King. I need your help! The Fire Nation, they attacked the Northern Air Temple, maybe even all the Air Temples!” Keyleth begs, gesturing wildly behind her. The men subtly look at each other for a moment, saying nothing.

“You are lucky to have made it this far. We know the pacifist nature of the Air Nomads. But your people are also sheltered. The world is safe from war. The Fire Nation is not a concern.” Another man insists passively. Keyleth could have cried hearing his words.

“Did you not hear me? Are you all stupid! Fire Nation soldiers invaded the Northern Air temple and burned it down. I was there when it happened, I saw the fire! They attacked the monks, they attacked children! The Northern Air Temple could be a pile of ash right now and you say that the Fire Nation isn't a concern!”

“You are new to Ba Sing Se, so we will tell you all you need to know. There is no war here, for we are safe in these walls. The Fire Nation is not a concern. There is no reason to speak of them, and we suggest you remember it.” A third cloaked man says. His tone is neutral but she senses a warning underneath, a threat perhaps.

“We welcome you to the Earth Kingdom, but not to the palace or its grounds. So, airbender, we must ask you to leave.” Two of the Dai Li begin walking towards her in an imposing, almost threatening, way. Keyleth remembers Father Korren’s words. She had to do anything she could to get the Earth King's help. But she doesn't know what to do. She has walked into an entire city in denial and the forces she desperately needs are refusing to acknowledge the murders and terror she had witnesses.

She shrinks into herself, holding her arms against her stomach and tucking her chin onto her neck. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her muscles are so tense that she can't imagine walking anywhere. In the Western Air Temple she was known for being a very happy individual, if emotional and sensitive, and she likes to think of herself that way. But the weight of all the Air Nomads, and maybe the whole world, have pushed her to her limit. And the pointed ignorance of these men pushed her further. Her hands snap out and behind her and she stomps her foot almost like a child's tantrum.

“NOO!” She screams, her voice coming from deep in her gut and making her sound feral and terrifying. The men lurch back and leap away from her, some turning to a fighting stance. She hears a thunderous crack as her foot hits the ground, and both a sloshing and a sparking noise behind her. She looks around and sees the river in the courtyard has waves rolling up and down its lengths and that water is spilling over its banks. A streak of grass behind her is scorched and burning. She looks down to see a large crack, almost a crater, splinters through the ground like a web with her foot in the center. It looks as if the ground had been struck by powerful lightning, or an explosion. She looks back up at the Dai Li and notices their posture is almost fearful, they are tense like coiled springs and seem to be waiting for her to move. She looks one in his face, where he imagines his eyes would be, and demands,

“I am the Avatar, and I will see the Earth King.” As she speaks she feels her body shaking with stress and her voice quivers. She prays to her ancestors that they would listen to her, help her. But her prayers are apparently not enough, as the one of the Dai Li snuck behind her and uses manacles to restrain her wrists behind her. As she feels the metal enclose on her wrists, she begins to fight back. She kicks and struggles and pleads for their help, for them to just listen. The Dai Li simply look at her for a moment longer before turning their backs and walking towards the palace. The cloaked man behind her begins leading her in the opposite direction, towards the palace gates. She attempts to bend, to summon a gust of air to blow them back, to snare their feet in earth, to splash them with a wave, to do something. But with her arms secured she only struggles futilely. With that last failure she resigns herself, letting herself be marched out of the courtyard and away from salvation.

She faintly registers the stone walls being lowered for the man escorting her and sealed again once they have passed. She registers that the man leads her through several streets and alleyways until he finally releases her wrists. Once he does she whips around and jumps back a few feet to distance herself from him. He hunches his shoulders to make himself look smaller, less threatening, and puts his open hands in front of him in a gesture of surrender. She notices that his hands are not covered by the rock gloves that all the Dai Li sport.

“Listen, I'm sorry. I had to get you out of there, it's my job. But I still want to help you. We aren't allowed to talk about it but I know that the Fire Nation is attacking people, your people. Just don't run, please.” Keyleth considers his argument. He was the man that took her by the arms and pulled her away from the salvation of her people. And the rest of the Dai Li made it clear that they would not help her in any way, so she was reluctant to trust him.

But the lack of stone gloves distances him from the rest of the guards, and she senses more emotion in him than the rest of the Dai Li combined. Even though she can barely see his face, something about him pulls her heart strings into trusting him.

“Okay. Okay, I believe you. So, what do we do?” His form relaxes and he stand upright again. He takes a few steps towards her so that he can speak quieter, but still keeps a respectful distance.

“Well, inside the palace we do talk and learn about the war, so I have a pretty good idea of what's going on out there. I think it is very unlikely that you could find any help from the Earth Kingdom itself, the Fire Nation is out of the question obviously, and the Air Temples are being attacked so the best place to look for an army would be the Water Tribes.” He says, listing the nations off on his fingers.

“So I came all the way to Ba Sing Se for nothing?” Keyleth asks disappointedly.

“No, no. The Fire Nation has been attacking the North Pole for a while now, so even though you are the Avatar it would be unlikely that we could get in without a native escorting you. Luckily I know a guy.” The man says.

“You do? That's great!”

“Yeah. But first I should bring you to my house to meet my sister. She knows way more about the Avatar than I do so she can probably help more. Also the Dai Li keep pretty close tabs on me so you shouldn't be seen walking about with me as much as we can help.” He explains while taking off his cloak.

“What are you doing?”

“Like I said, we shouldn't be seen together. Me walking around with a Dai Li agent is less conspicuous.” Under his Dai Li uniform is a black leather tunic with black trousers and boots. He has a black cloth belt with silver embroidery of a raven snake. He removes his hat and long black hair falls over his shoulders. The front parts of his hair are braided back and a black feather hangs behind his ear. He has pale skin and sharp cheekbones, and his eyes are a glittering green. He hands the uniform to Keyleth and the dons them, carefully tucking her orange hair under the hat and making sure to cover the arrows on her face and hands. As the two exit the alleyway the man quietly asks,

“What's your name, by the way?”

“Keyleth. And your's?”

“Vax’ildan.”

“It's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” He replies, dryly.


	3. Negotiations

Keyleth and Vax walk quickly through the streets of Ba Sing Se, avoiding eye contact with everyone they pass. Although Keyleth was worried that her Dai Li uniform would attract attention, she soon notices that people would look down and walk around her. She guesses that she was definitely noticed but that no one would bother them.

Vax leads her through the city to the very outskirts of the inner wall. Wedged in between two hills by the wall is a small house that would be more accurately described as a large shed. It is made of crumbling stone with a boarded over roof, and a small window on one wall shows a flickering light within. The two of them walk up to the front door and push their way through, creating an obnoxious creaking sound.

The room is sparsely decorated, with an old rug, an uncomfortable looking couch, and a desk with a flickering oil lamp. Inside are two occupants, one woman that looks much like Vax with her hair braided to the side, and a massive creature with pale brown fur and black markings on its face. It has round ears, a long fluffy tail, and flabby skin connecting its front and hind legs. The woman is wearing a teal tunic with brown leggings and has a blue feather in her hair.

She is writing in a journal until she looks up and her eyes land on Keyleth. She immediately stands up and takes a defensive position, her creature doing the same.  
“What are you doing here?” She snarls. Keyleth is scared and confused at this woman's actions, until she remembers her dress.

“Oh no, I'm not…” she stutters.

“Relax, Vex’ahlia, she's not Dai Li.” Vax explains.

“My name is Keyleth, of the Eastern Air Temple.” She announces herself, taking off her hat to show her arrow. With seeing the symbol the woman switches from guardedness to amazement.

“You're an airbender.” She breathes. Keyleth smiles awkwardly.

“Not just that, get this. She's the Avatar.” Vax says. Vex’s eyes widen, then narrow in suspicion.

“No, that can't be right. Avatar Roku only died twelve years ago, she's too old.” She points out.

“But she is. I saw her throw waves and summon fire, she cracked the earth beneath her feet. I saw her bend all the elements at once.” Vax insists. The two of them look to Keyleth for an answer.

“Uh, well, the way that Father Korren explained it to me was that something happened to the last avatar and his powers transferred to me. Somehow.” She explains.

“I've never heard of something like that before, but I guess that makes sense.” Vex shrugs. She pats her animal on its side and it relaxes and sits down. Keyleth crouches down and reaches to scratch behind its ears. The creature nuzzles into her hand and licks her face.

“What kind of animal is this?” Keyleth giggles, wiping the saliva from her cheek. Vex kneels down to rub its stomach and it happily rolls over to receive.

"This is Trinket, my Sugar Glider Bear. We found him when we were travelling near the Western Air Temple a few years ago.” She explains.

  
“What were you guys doing there?”

  
“We wanted to visit where our mother was raised.” Vax answers simply.

  
“Your mother was an airbender? Are you both airbenders?” Keyleth gasps.

  
“Nope. Just me.” Vex says.

  
“Wow, I wouldn't have guessed it.” Keyleth says.

  
“No, you wouldn't, since we were raised in the Earth Kingdom. Mother didn't want to separate us so she raised us on her own in a little village. But we've travelled most of the Earth Kingdom and even beyond that.” Vex tells.

“Could I ask though, what are you doing in Ba Sing Se?”

  
“Well, I was in the Northern Air Temple, since I was traveling to all the temples to help maintain habitats for the Flying Bison. While I was there we got attacked by Fire Nation soldiers. I was sent to get help from the Earth King, but I couldn't even get inside the palace.”

  
“Oh my god, that's terrible! Are you okay?”

  
“Yeah, but the Northern Temple is probably rubble by now, and I have no clue about the other temples.”

  
“I said that we would help her get to the Northern Water Tribe, so that she can start training.” Vax says. Vex sighs and puts her face in her hands.

  
“Which means we need Scanlan.” She groans.

  
“Yes, I know. But we are doing this for the greater good. She doesn't have anyone else.” Vax pushes.

  
“I know, I know.” Vex stands up and gestures for Keyleth to follow her to a side room.

  
“If we are gonna be walking around the city we need to get you some clothes to blend in.” She says. In the side room is a small bedroom with two beds with a trunk for clothes. On a shared nightstand is an unlit lamp and in the corner by one bed is a massive worn cushion on the floor, big enough to support the Sugar Glider Bear. Vex kneels by the trunk and begins pulling out piles of clothes. She tosses brown leggings, a pale green tunic, a dark green undershirt with sleeves that connect to the fingers, a cloth headband, a brown hooded cloak, and sandals that cover the tops of her feet.

  
“Put these on. They won't be conspicuous and they'll cover any tattoos you have.” Vex orders, turning to give her some privacy. Keyleth very quickly and clumsily gets changed, making sure her arrows are covered.

  
“Okay, I'm ready.” Keyleth announces, turning to show Vex. She turns to see the air nomad and sighs. Vex walks up and starts tucking the copper hair into the hood, out of sight.  
“Orange hair isn't exactly common, darling. It's very beautiful, but also very conspicuous.” She says. Once the last lock of hair is hidden she nods and leads Keyleth back out into the main room. Vax is leaning back on the desk and fiddling with his sleeves. He looks up suddenly when the girls enter, as if he was lost in thought.

  
“Vax, are you coming with us?” Keyleth asks.

  
“No, I'm afraid not. Like I said, we shouldn't be seen together. If the Dai Li sees me walking around town with the Avatar after we just kicked her out, they will be keeping a much closer eye on me. And that will make it much harder for us to get beyond the walls once the time comes.” He explains. Vex strides over to him and quickly wraps him in a hug, which he returns.

  
“Watch out for yourself, brother.”

  
“And you.” Then they let go of each other and Vex slings a purse over her shoulder.

  
“Come on, Keyleth.” She says over her shoulder, already at the door. Keyleth runs to follow Vex as she leads her back the way she came. Once in town, however, the two of them travel to a very busy market place. The loud peddling of the shopkeepers make Keyleth uncomfortable, not being used to thriving cities of this sort. She finds that the shouting salespeople don't make her as uncomfortable as the shady looking people with swords that lurk in the alleys between the stands. Vex notices her staring and links their arms together, forcing Keyleth to keep moving.

Vex eventually leads the two of them to a building instantly recognisable as a tavern, by its sound and its smell. Inside was just as she imagined, poorly lit and even less cleaned. The patrons were either asleep in their drinks or shouting at anyone around them, some laughing and some threatening. The staff of the tavern paid little attention to the ruckus, only looking up to give drinks and receive coins. Vex gestures for Keyleth to sit at a nearby table and ushers a bartender over.

  
“Could you go get those two half-brains for me?” She asks with a wink. The flustered bartender nods and quickly makes his way to the second floor as Vex takes her seat by Keyleth.

  
“Does this Scanlan person come here often?” Keyleth asks.

  
“He lives here, along with his bodyguard.” Vex answers, scanning the top of the crowd.

  
“Why would they live in a tavern?”

  
“Because the rent on the brothel was too expensive.” Keyleth is beginning to have an idea what these two were like.

  
“Are you sure we should be asking these two for help?” She asks.

  
“Unfortunately, yes. Scanlan and Grog are both from the Southern water tribe and have spent a long time in the Northern tribe as well. They are probably our best bet at getting you a teacher. Also, Scanlan is a waterbender so he could probably teach you the basics.” Vex explains.

  
“Okay, if you say so.” Keyleth concedes.

  
“Relax, darling. These two are harmless if you stay on their good side, which is quite easy to do. Just don't antagonise them too much and they won't be any trouble. You do have to be a tad patient with Grog, and Scanlan is a bit of a flirt so just ignore him.” Vex smiles and goes back to searching the room. Keyleth hears the stairs creaking before she sees anyone reach the bottom. When the figure appears she forces herself not to gasp.

The man stomping down the steps is truly gargantuan. He easily crests six feet tall, maybe even seven feet. His skin is tan and covered in tattoos that are easily recognisable as water tribe warrior symbols. He has no hair on his head but he does have a bushy black beard with a small braid dangling in the center. He wears no shirt, probably to show off his incredibly muscular build. His pants are brown, baggy, and end at the knee, and he has a massive belt with a golden snarling face imprinted in the front. He looks over the room with a blank and confused look on his face. When his eyes meet Vex’s his eyes show recognition. He lumbers over to their table and once he is close Keyleth can't help but feel small.

  
“Ey Vex.” He says with a deep voice and thick drawl.

  
“Lovely to see you, Grog. Where's the little man?” She asks, seeming not bothered by him towering over her. The chair next to Keyleth seems to scoot back of its own accord, until she sees a very short man hop into it.

He has similar tan skin to Grog, but he has long brown hair tied back and topped with a purple cap. He wears a silky purple robe which does very little to cover his excessively hairy chest. He grins at her with immaculate white teeth and a smile wider than should be thought possible.

  
“If I was told that we had two lovely ladies asking for us I would have come sooner.” He greets, words dripping with flirtation. He extends his hand to Keyleth and when she takes it he presses a kiss to her knuckles.

  
“I don't believe we've met, fair lady. My name is Scanlan Shorthalt, and yours?”

  
“Uh, um. My names… Keyleth.” She stutters, caught off guard by his display.

  
“Anyways,” Vex interrupts.

  
“We are here for business. We want to travel out of the city and will likely need help from you and yours.”

  
“Why does that involve us?” Scanlan asks.

  
“Because my brother will be coming with us.”

  
“Ah. Well, that does complicate things.” Scanlan leans back in his seat and kicks his short legs up onto the table.

  
“We also need the two of you to escort the three of us to the Northern water tribe.” She adds. Scanlan pauses and looks up, pretending to think, then shrugs.

  
“We might be able to help.”

  
“Ten gold pieces.” Vex suggests.

  
“Fifty.” Scanlan counters.

  
“Twenty five.” She throws back. Scanlan leans forward and rests his head in his hands.

  
“Then we can definitely help.” He smiles. Vex reaches into her bag and tosses him a small jingling pouch. He unties it and searches through, finding exactly twenty five gold pieces. He smiles up at her again.

  
“Oh, Vex I've missed you so.” He sighs.

  
“Likewise.” She replies, dryly.


	4. Entourage

Keyleth thinks it’s a good plan

“That’s a terrible plan.” The twins say simultaneously. Scanlan sighs and throws his head back with annoyance, standing on the table where he just explained his most recent idea. Keyleth and the twins sit around the table with a collection of musicians, Scanlan’s friends apparently. Grog stands nearby, guarding the door to the room they've rented. Scanlan is dressed more decently than yesterday, wearing a purple silk shirt, a leather vest, and billowing pants.

“My plan is brilliant! Grog has some earthbending buddies from his fight club. We get them to punch a tunnel that goes under the wall, and we walk right out of the city!”  
Scanlan defends, wildly acting out what he says.

“Why do you think the Dai Li are impossible to sneak up on?” Vax asks.

“I heard they got eyes on the back o’ their heads.” Grog says in all seriousness. Vax starts to respond before stopping in his tracks, processing what Grog says. He then lowers his face into his hands and groans through his fingers.

“It’s because they’re all earthbenders! They can sense your footsteps. If they notice that, don’t you think they would notice a tunnel being dug right beneath their feet?” Vex says. Scanlan frowns and hops off of the table into his seat. He slouches down and crosses his arms dejectedly.

“It wouldn’t be right under their feet.” He mutters. Vex sighs and massages her temples.

Keyleth had hoped that they would have already launched their plan to get out of Ba Sing Se by now, seeing as her and Vex met with Scanlan yesterday. They had an entire day to prepare, yet it doesn’t seem that they took advantage of that and only started planning when they walked in this room.

The group continues to squabble about how to get the twins out of the city undetected. Three people whom Keyleth was never introduced to, but she knows that they are the drummer, lutenist, and singer of their performance group, mostly discuss with each other, from what she can hear their plan making isn't going any better than Scanlan’s. A rotund man with muttonchops and an underbite who Keyleth heard is called Dr. Dranzel, their violinist and apparent leader, paces in the back of the room while stroking his chin. A small boy paces next to him, very carefully imitating the Dr.’s steps and posture. The boy hadn’t said anything during their meeting and didn’t appear to aid in the plan making process, but is always at Dranzel’s side. Dranzel turns to the table and slams his hands down on it, causing it to jump. His eyes are bright with inspiration, a plan clearly behind them.

“Avatar lady, didn't’cha say you fly into Ba Sing Se? Right up t’ the palace doors?” He asks, his voice gravelly and loud.

“Uhh… Keyleth… and yes I did.”

“Then what’re we doing? All ya gotta do is fly yourselves out! The lovely lady Vex is an airbender as well, and the two o’ you can surely support Vax here! Forgive me, lad, but you’re not exactly made o’ muscle.” He laughs.

“Because I don’t have a glider, Dranzel.” Vex inputs.  
“An airbender can fire themselves in the air but it’s near impossible to maintain flight without a glider. Even if I had one they are very fragile and can't support much weight, we couldn't carry Vax between us.”

Keyleth groans and flops forward onto the table, crossing her arms to cushion her chin.

“This isn’t working guys. Why can't we just walk out normally?”

“The guards would stop us the second they see my face.” Vax groans, rubbing his temples.  
“The Dai Li figured I might try to leave so as soon as they forced me to join they told the guards that I wasn’t to leave the city. Ever.”

“Why did they force you to join?” Keyleth asks. Vax’s posture tenses, not appreciating the personal question. By his face she can tell his first instinct is to refuse an answer, but for some reason he decides against it.

“Vex got in trouble, I stepped in and gave my services for her freedom. They had already been keeping an eye on us so me joining them made it easier for them to keep us in line.” The answer was short and vague, but it's more than Keyleth was expecting.  
“That's why they don't want me to leave. And that's why they can't see my face, no matter what.” Keyleth nods silently, thinking what she would do in a similar situation. In her thought she suddenly sits upright, her eyes widening with inspiration.

“What if they didn't see your face? What if some of us wore masks?” she says. Dranzel and Scanlan lean forward, listening to her excitedly.

“Keyleth, we can't just turn up with a bunch of masks on and expect no questions asked.” Vax sighs.

“Or can we?” Scanlan asks. Everyone turns to him as he climbs up onto the table again.

“The guard know us, they’ve detained us for debauchery time and time again. They know our love of the arts and entertainment. We turn up at the gates in flashy garb and masks, theatrical makeup and dazzling jewellry, enough to hold their attention so they don't see the person beneath. We say we are taking our talents on the road to entertain the masses. They won't think twice about it and we walk right out of the city!” He announces. The twins sit back in their seats, their eyebrows raised with matching smirks on their faces.

“Scanlan, that is possibly the best plan you have ever had.” Vax says.

“Would that work though?” Vex asks her brother.

“The guards would probably want to know who we are, but I’m pretty sure that Scanlan or Dranzel could easily talk us through the outer wall without taking our masks off.”

“So this is the plan? This will work?” Vex asks. Dranzel leans forward with a crooked grin.

“This’ll work.”

“Well, the hard parts out of the way,” Vax points out.  
“But once we get out of the walls there is a lot of ground to cover between here and the north pole. The Dai Li has agents outside of Ba Sing Se, or people that are scared of them that would report us. Not to mention that the further north we go the more likely it is that we could run into fire nation soldiers. Do we have any way of giving us safe travel?” He asks. Scanlan winks at Vax with a knowing smile.

“I actually thought of that. We are buddies with a successful merchant. He has shops all over the Earth Kingdom and he loves helping us out. I sent him a message on my dragonfly last night tell him that we would be on our way. I'm sure he will be happy to provide us with supplies and shelter, no payment required.”

“All that needs to be done is get dressed up and we can be outa the city before night falls.” Dranzel stands triumphantly and gestures for the room to follow him. He strides over to the door, being guarded by a sleeping Grog, and nudges him awake. They all make their way to a small room filled with bright, glittering clothes. The room isn't big enough to hold all of the clothes and people present so Dranzel and the musicians wait outside.

Scanlan confidently picks an outfit off of a rack and begins stripping while everyone else is still browsing. Once he is all but nude he climbs into a skintight yellow suit that leaves little to the imagination. Grog dons an embroidered shawl and a dangerously pointed headband which has a sharp horn coming out of the front, making him look like a rhinoceratops. Vax finds bedazzled white robes and even a white wig to match. Vex puts on a blue dress and leggings with a shining golden cape. As everyone finds their clothes they immediately begin to change infront of everyone, not minding being partially nude in front of people.

Keyleth would normally feel the same, but the room was full of strange men, one of which had already flirted heavily with her. Keyleth was raised only in the company of women, so she is hesitant to change. She does, however, find a long green dress with black sleeves that would cover all of her tattoos. She awkwardly goes into a corner and changes her dress with her back turned.

When they are all changed they leave the room for the others to enter, and return to the planning room where they start applying makeup. Scanlan quickly applies a copious amount of glitter to his face and then leaves to continue preparing with Dranzel. Vex and Grog put on their face paints and then help Vax and Keyleth. While Grog puts face paint of Vax, Vex applies charcoal to Keyleth’s hair to tint it brown.

“You had a really good idea back there, Keyleth.” Vex says over her shoulder.

“Wha- really?” She asks.

“Yeah, that was very clever.” Vax chimes in. Grog leans back from painting his face.

“Shut up, Vax, I'm concentrating.” He orders.

“That wasn't really my idea though, it was Scanlan's. I just helped, I guess.” Keyleth shrugs, playing with her hands.

“Scanlan is a lot of things, but clever isn't one of them.” Vex laughs.

“Really, I meant that when I said that was Scanlans best plan yet. He wouldn't have thought of it if it weren't for you.” Vax says. Grog throws his head back in annoyance.

“Oh my gods, Vax, keep still!” He groans.

“What, I can't even talk?” He retorts.

“No you can't, it's messing me up!”

“Whatever, I could’ve applied my own makeup.” Vax grumbles, sinking in his seat.

“One, it would've looked like shit. And B, it’s not makeup, it's face paint. There's a difference.” Grog says, returning to painting a skull pattern across his face.

“Oh yeah, what's the difference, big man.” Vax mutters. Instead of shouting at him, Grog simply jabs one hard finger into his stomach, causing Vax to nearly keel over.

“Warriors don't wear makeup.” He answers bluntly.

“Actually, avatar Kyoshi was a great warrior from her village. She wore makeup similar to geishas.” Vex inputs.

“Yeah, she's the avatar. She can do what she wants.” Grog shrugs. With a final brushstroke he finishes Vax’s face paint and all but shoves him out of the chair.

“M’kay, I’m done with you. Don't touch your face till it dries.” He orders.

“What if I get an itch!” Vax challenges. Grog points an accusing finger at his face.

“Don't touch your dumb face.” He repeats. Vax smirks and darts his face forward, touching his nose to Grogs finger and smudging the paint there. Grog shrugs and says,

“I'm not fixing it.” Then he gestures for Keyleth to sit in the chair. Vax rolls his eyes and goes to Vex to steal some black paint to fix his nose himself.

“So, Keyleth. What’re we gonna do after we get to the north pole?” Grog asks. Keyleth focuses on sitting still while Grog begins to paint a green moon across her eye.

“Well, I'm probably gonna stay there until I master waterbending." Keyleth answers.

"What, she gets to talk and I don't?" Vax asks indignantly.

"She's the avatar, she can do what she wants. Also you are annoying." Grog answers simply. Vax huffs and continues fixing his face paint.

"Well... Once I've mastered water I think that next in the cycle is earth, so I’ll probably head back to the earth kingdom to get a teacher for that.” Keyleth continues.

“Oh! I could hook you up with one’a my fightin buddies. I dunno if they’re really the teachin type, but they're good earthbenders. Do ya think they could help?”

“Uh, maybe. I don't know. But you don't really have to. If you wanted to just take me to the north pole and back that would be totally fine.” Keyleth says.

“Yeah, Grog, we are gonna be with her. She won't be alone if that's what you’re worried about.” Vex says as she finishes recoloring Keyleth's hair.

“Nah. The fire nation is attacking all over. The water tribes. The air temples. Some earth kingdom villages out west. They're hurting a lot of people, my people too. If you're gonna fight ‘em I wanna help.” Grog shrugs. Vex turns to look at him with a smile.

“That's very noble of you, Grog.”

“Is it? Doesn't feel like it. The fire nation is being an asshole to me so I wanna be an asshole to them.” The twins laugh at this, but Keyleth gets worried. She hadn't thought about the fire lord until now. She has been preoccupied with the thought of mastering the elements, not realizing she was doing so to win a war. She isn’t a warrior, she isn't a leader. Why did she have to be the avatar then?

“Thanks, Grog. I'm gonna need all the help I can get.” Keyleth says, not looking up at him.

“Scanlan’ll probably come to. Cause he likes to travel and he likes me. But to be honest I think the reason he wanted to go to the north pole is cause we got a buddy up there. You’re gonna love her. I know she will wanna come with us and help you out. And if she comes then Scanlan’ll definitely stick around.”

“You're picking up quite the entourage, Keyleth.” Vax jokes, fanning his drying face indignantly. Keyleth smiles at this.

“Yeah, it's kinda nice.”


	5. Lost in Thought

Keyleth, the twins, and the performers walk along the crop lines paths of the farming district. They are all adorned in flashy robes and masks, made to look spectacularly ambiguous. They just have one stop to make before they journey to the outer wall, and frankly Keyleth felt bad for forgetting about it. Dr. Dranzel and his musicians carry armfulls of silks and beaded ropes, far more than any person to wear. Grog walks alongside them carrying the heavier pieces of the costume. Under one arm he cradles a large mask made to look like the beak of a platypus-bear with a tight muzzle while under the other he has a wad of leather and paper about the size of his own torso if not longer that resembles a platypuses tail. Keyleth walks alongside the twins in the front of the group, and she hears Vex humming to herself nervously.

“What’s wrong, Vex?” She asks, turning to face her. Vex has to duck backwards to avoid being hit with the antlers on Keyleth’s mask. She huffs and thinks that she had told Scanlan it was too big.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’m just sad because I know he’s going to hate it.” Vex sighs. Vax pats her shoulder reassuringly.

“Well, you know that the only other option we had was leaving him behind.” He shrugs.

“Yes, I know. And it will only be for a little while, and I can take it right off once we are outside of the city. And he will get lots of treats the whole time.” She mutters to herself, psyching herself up for the ordeal ahead. As the group crests a hill they see the worn down shack that the twins have called home.

“Oh, he’s going to hate me.” Vex sighs once more. Once everyone has reached the shack Vex stops them and goes inside first, followed by her brother. Keyleth props the door open and peaks in to watch. She feels a solid mass behind her and a small hand push her long skirt aside, and she assumed that Grog and Scanlan are both as curious as her. 

As the twins step inside the hulking mass of light brown fur sitting in the center of the room stirs. The sad face of a Glider-bear peeks up from under his arm. Upon seeing the siblings his eyes light up and he quickly makes his way to greet them. He seems to recognise his family despite their dramatic dress and obscuring makeup. Vex, still looking a bit guilty, crouches down to scratch his neck and allow him to kiss her face. Once Trinket has had his fill he sits down and stares at her adoringly. Vex holds his paw and begins speaking to her companion.

“Trinket, your uncle and I are finally going to get you out of this horrible little shack in this mean old town. Out where you can have open grounds and open sky. But we need to be very clever when we leave because some people here don’t want us to leave.” She explains. Trinket huffs angrily at her last words. Vex nods understandingly.

“I know, they are very rude people. But, in order to get out to a much better place, we need to disguise ourselves, including you. So we have with us some very lovely coverings as well as a mask and a tail to make you look like a different creature. I know you hate to wear things like this and I’m very sorry to do this to you. But it’s for the greater good, and only for a short while. So could you cooperate with momma?” She asks him. Vex speaks very quickly as if she is worried that Trinket will get upset. To her defence, he does get visibly uncomfortable. He seems to ponder the situation before looking at her sadly and nodding. He makes a sad little growl and licks her face comfortingly. Vex smiles, wipes some drool from her face and turns back to the door.

“Okay, bring in the clothes everyone. Vax and I should dress him alone, he will be grumpy enough and we don’t want strangers to make him more uncomfortable.” She says. Grog and the musicians dump the costume on the ground and go back outside, Vax closing the door behind them. The next half hour Keyleth can hear the jingling of beads, the grunts of struggle, and a bearlike growling and whining. She stands with her back to the wall, waiting to get going.

Keyleth has always felt like a naturally anxious person, but recent events have made her feel mounting anxiety. She just wishes that they could already be on their way to the north pole. She is thankful for the help of these people, but it still feels like going to Ba Sing Se was a mistake, considering how long she has stayed here. The loud and discordant sound of creaking wood yanks her from her spiralling thoughts as Grog settles on the wall next to her. Even with his relaxed posture she still has to look up to see his face so she removes her mask to spare him an eye poking.

“Do you.. Uh… wanna talk about.. Something?” Keyleth asks. She still was finding it hard to talk to these new people, but Grog was especially difficult. Somewhere between his hulking form, his confident stance, and his dull expression she could only ever read him as disinterested at best and disgruntled at worst. As always, she covers her insecurity with a smile.

“Yeah. I was just wonderin’ like, what kinda avatar are you? Like are you one’a the cool powerful ones or one’a the boring philafalafel ones?” He asks. Keyleth has to take a moment to decipher what he said.

“Philafalafel? Do you mean philosophical?” She mutters.

“That’s what I said.” He responds, unconvincingly.

Well… I’m certainly not powerful. I mean I’m and airbending master, but I’m nowhere close to mastering the other three elements. I’m sure I could be powerful with time and training, but I’m not yet.” Keyleth rambles.

“Yeah, but like when you do get powerful and all avatar-y what are you gonna do? Are ya gonna kick fire nation butt or are ya gonna be all like  _ violence is not the answer _ ?” He asks, ending with a silly high pitched voice.

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to barge into the fire nation and destroy everything. The nuns taught that violence is rarely then answer and that there’s more than one way to solve a problem. They also taught that there is good in everyone, even the fire-lord.” Keyleth explains. Grog rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

“So your plan to win the war is to have tea with a mass murderer?” He accuses.

“What? Uhh… no! Um.. I mean I don’t have a plan at all, but there’s a lot of… there’s more than one… that’s not..” Keyleth sputters. She wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation was going but that caught her truly off-guard.

“Whatever. Airbenders are all boring anyways. With all their meditatin’ and falafely. ” He interrupts, walking away to the rest of the group.

“Philosophy, Grog?” Scanlan asks, overhearing his large friend.

“Tha’s what I said.” Grog mutters. As he walks away Keyleth slides down the wall and hugs her knees, certainly not having another crisis. She also is definitely not thinking about the nuns, the air nomads, and her entire childhood. No homesickness here. 

Scanlan leans next to her, just barely cresting over her slouched form, and looks down with a smile. 

“Sorry about Grog. He's not the best with...a lot of things.” He chuckles. Keyleth nods and hums absently. 

“Would you want to get any troubling thoughts off your mind? I'm an excellent companion.” He asks. She lets out an exasperated sigh and rests her forehead on her knees, hiding her face in her chest. 

“This is just a lot. There's just too much of...everything happening. And I don't understand any of it. I'm not supposed to be the avatar, I know that much. There was an avatar, and now he's gone. And instead of going to the water tribes the avatar spirit came to me. Something went wrong and now the whole world is counting on me. And I can't run away from it because it's inside me. And now i'm supposed to save people, and fight in a war, and be the most powerful person in the world! I'm not powerful, and I'm not a leader, and I'm not strong enough to deal with this!” Keyleth lets out all of her anxieties in one breath. She inhales sharply at the end of her rant and shakily wipes some stray tears from her face. After coming to her senses her face grows hot and she picks a spot of grass to stare at, far too embarrassed to look up at Scanlan. He was the man that Vex hired to get them all to the north pole. His whole job was to help the avatar, and she just told him that she can't do it. What if he quits. What if she just ruined this whole mission, and the twins get stuck in Ba Sing Se and she will have to continue her journey all alone. If she continues at all. 

“The thing I find the most interesting in what you said is that you think this was a mistake.” Scanlan says, nonchalantly.

“What?” Keyleth asks, startled but still not meeting his eyes. 

“Despite what many believe I am an educated man, if not through the most practical means. We’ve all heard the legend of the avatar and I've heard more than most. The avatar isn't a person or a power, it’s a spirit. Something did go wrong, and in that the spirit of all the avatars of the past decided that you were their next in line to share their power. It doesn't matter what anyone sees in you or what you see in yourself. Because all of the most powerful people in history saw greatness in you. And with their help you can grow to be the avatar you are supposed to be.”

“Wow. Um.. I don't know what to say, Scanlan.”

“I have that effect on people.” He shrugs. Keyleth thinks that she was at a loss for words because she never expected him to say something so wise, but she keeps this to herself. Finally the door to the shack opens and the twins emerge along with a grumpy and disguised Trinket. He has the beak muzzle covering his snout and the straps are concealed with a headdress covered in jingling beads, both of which help to hide his facial markings. There is a large embroidered cloth on his back that drapes down his sides to hide the bunching of skin between his limbs. And strapped to his hindquarters is a large leathery tail piece that drags obnoxiously on the ground. In a whirl of jingles and sparkles Trinket shakes his whole form, trying in vain to shake the costume from him. Vex pouts at his display and continues to comfortingly scratch his cheek and ears, as much bare fur as she can reach. 

“We should get going now. The sooner we get out of this city the better.” Vax says. The performers all pick up themselves and their packs and continue on the road. As Keyleth falls in step with the twins she shoots a glance back at Scanlan. When she catches his eye she mouths a thanks to him. He flashes a wide grin and takes the cap from his head with a deep bow. Grog catches the display and quirks his brow between them. Keyleth turns quickly and avoids his gaze. This was going to be a long journey, but at least she had a purpose. 


End file.
